Moritaka Mashiro
Moritaka Mashiro (真城 最高, Mashiro Moritaka) is the main protagonist of the series, Bakuman. He is often called Saikō (サイコー) by Takagi, whom he calls Shujin, as they are alternate ways of reading their names. Mashiro's dreams are to make a successful manga and with an anime, so he can marry Miho Azuki and change Weekly Shōnen Jump. He creates manga with his classmate, and best friend Akito Takagi, under the pen name Ashirogi Muto, and follows the footsteps of his late Mangaka uncle, Nobuhiro Mashiro. Background Mashiro's Family consists of his manga-ka (manga artist) uncle, Nobuhiro Mashiro, his mother, father, and grandfather. His uncle died from overwork. His dad is alive but is never seen, his mom is seen throughout the story (eg. in the hospital) and his grandpa gives him the keys to his uncle's studio. When Mashiro was in elementary school he spent a lot of time at his uncle's studio, because his greatest goal was to become a mangaka like his uncle. However, after his uncle dies when he is in sixth grade, never getting a hit series again and leaving behind debt, Mashiro's dreams of being a mangaka dissapears. When the story starts, Mashiro is fond of a classmate, Azuki Miho, and has been for a very long time. To avoid becoming like his uncle, who was never able to confess his feelings toward his crush, Mashiro accidentally proposes to Azuki. She accepts, stating she will marry him after they achieve their dreams. However, they must not see each other until then. Mashiro then decides to team up with another classmate, a talented writer named Akito Takagi, and they try to get published and have an anime adaption of the series. Mashiro is a talented artist, but is highly dissatisfied with his drawings. Appearance Mashiro is a medium sized and relatively skinny character. He has blue hair, with a cowlick at the top of his head. He also has blue eyes. The shade of blue used for his hair changes from light blue to dark blue with light blue reflections. Personality He is extremely gifted as a manga artist even in the beginning, but is often displeased with his drawings. Over time his skill becomes better with the help of his rival mangaka, Niizuma. He shares friendly rivalries with his top competitors Niizuma, Fukuda, and Hiramaru. His disposition is always positive and often causes him to be indecisive. With the help of his best friend Akito Takagi, who writes the stories, they both dream of getting a popular manga. Their relationship is solid, often thinking on the same wavelength. Mashiro is often amazed at Takagi's story plots. In the beginning of the story, Takagi respects Mashiro's drawing and only wants him to draw for his manga, this causes him to punch a classmate who insulted Mashiro's drawing skill. His relationship with his fiancé, Azuki Miho is quite interesting. He deeply loves her as she does back. However he is incredibly shy when around her in person, and stubborn through their texts. Because of the conditions in order for them to be married, he is determined to get a popular manga that'll become an anime so they can realize their dreams and finally be married. Bakuman Series Legacy of a Mangaka and Mashiro's Beginning When Mashiro was young, his uncle, Nobuhiro Mashiro, was a somewhat infamous mangaka. Because of this he developed an interest in drawing mangas. His skill could be seen back as far as the 4th grade where he drew a poster for Bird Week. In his 5th grade year he showed great knowledge about mangaka tools. Some time in between Elementary and Middle school his uncle passed away due to overexhaustion. In his 6th grade year he first met Azuki Miho at a local swim meet. Making a Manga with Takagi The story begins with Moritaka Mashiro, a normal high school student with an amazing talent for drawing. In class, he draws the girl who he's in love with, Miho Azuki, in his math book. Unfortunately, he forgets it at school and rushes back, only to find that it is in the possession of Akito Takagi, the boy who gets the top grades in school. When Mashiro demands for it back, Takagi asks him if they want to make a manga together because Mashiro is a good artist. Mashiro declines Takagi possibly because of his Mangaka uncle. He remembered his uncle only published one gag story before he died. Also, his uncle wrote letters to the girl he loved for many years and was thinking of proposing to her once, but then, she got engaged. Then, Takagi calls Mashiro, asking him to go to Azuki's house. Upon reaching Azuki’s home, Takagi asks if it was true that she wanted to be a voice actor. Then they tell her about their dreams to become Manga-kas. Azuki replies by saying she wants to become a voice actor. However, Mashiro accidentally asks if Azuki will marry him, thinking of his uncle. Azuki accepts, but only if they accomplish their dreams. The next day, Takagi walks with Mashiro on the way to school and asks him if his uncle was Kawaguchi Taro. Mashiro replies that Taro was just his pen name and his real name was Mashiro Nobuhiro. He died a while back; his parents believe he overworked but Mashiro says he commit suicide. Mashiro backs it up by saying he never married and was jobless for many years. Teaming up with Takagi In the exams, Mashiro can't think properly and asks if he can go to the nurse's office. Then Takagi also goes to the nurse. Upon seeing Takagi, Mashiro says he's been thinking of Azuki. On the roof, Takagi says that he picked him to be the artist for his manga not for his drawing skills, but for his personality. Takagi says that people like Azuki are smart because they're sensible. She has a good personality (graceful and well-mannered) rather than Iwase (another girl) who has good grades but is very arrogant. To this, Mashiro agrees to work with him because they think alike but Takagi asks if his parents are okay with this. His mom at first, does not approve but reluctantly agrees because his father doesn't mind him being a manga-ka. Then Mashiro's grandpa gives him his uncle Nobuhiro's keys for his manga studio. Takagi and Mashiro find supplies, action figures, magazines and manuscripts in his uncle's studio. Takagi takes out some manuscripts that look like drafts. Mashiro explains that you have to draw a na-me (draft with words and pictures) for the artist, rather than just writing a script. The artist will then change it and give it to an editor. First Steps Towards Manga and Azuki’s Mom Takagi and Mashiro both want to draw a masculine manga (not something weak or shojo). Takagi asks if he can study some of his uncle's na-mes. Mashiro's goal is to make an anime before they’re 18 for Azuki. Mashiro sees that his uncle was working extremely hard and apologizes to his dad for believing his uncle commit suicide. The determination of his uncle persuades Mashiro to work full-heartedly; for manga and Azuki. Mashiro finds the letters his uncle wrote to the girl he loved in a closet full of manuscripts. The last letter says that she is going to get married and that she won't write anymore after the wedding so she apologizes. Then, they find out that the girl was Azuki's mom. Takagi and Mashiro meet Azuki's mom. They tell her they are sorry for reading her letters. Then Azuki's mom admits loving Mashiro's uncle but she was too embarrassed to say anything to Nobuhiro. She believes his uncle's gag story was based on how Kawaguchi Taro felt. Mashiro tells Azuki's mom that he doesn't want Azuki to know about the letters between his uncle and her. Mashiro has been practicing to draw using some manga pens and falls asleep in the exams. He explains the three different kinds of pens he has used. G Pens: The pen most manga-kas use. They’re very hard to use because the lines aren't consistent enough. Kabura Pens: (What his uncle used) They make very good lines but make the drawings have no flavor. However, they are good for backgrounds. Maru Pens: Good for very thin lines He also says that drawing still figures are easy but it's hard to make movement, expressions, and composition. Mashiro is amazed how his uncle, who didn't use G pens or white-out, became a pro in three years. For the sake of manga, Mashiro has decided to go to Yakusa North High School because it isn't the best school so he will have more time to draw. Drawing a Manga for Jump Reading in Shonen Jump, they find Niizuma Eiji who one the 2nd prize in a manga contest at the age of 15. He's praised for his artwork by judges. Back in school, they remember a kid in their class called Ishizawa who loves drawing chibi-style girls. Mashiro says once you win an award, you will get an editor. Even if you lose, an editor might like it and still accept you. However, their editors are chosen for them so they might be good or bad. His uncle once said a really good editor constantly rejected a newbie artist's work. He says because of this, it led the artist to fame. Takagi and Mashiro decide to give a manuscript not for Shonen Jump to see what their editor's opinion is. On their way to his uncle's studio, he sees Azuki. Takagi gets really shy and looks down whilst Azuki hides behind her mom. When they turned their head and saw each other, he told Takagi he felt as if they were on the same frequency. Takagi gives him a manuscript called Double Earth: The Two Earths. It’s about the Earth and people here are just clones of the people on the real earth. ‘’“We were experimented, and thanks to us, there is no war or pollution on the real Earth”’’. Mashiro thinks it's amazing and asks if they want to publish it for Jump. Takagi has another idea called Sunglass Pitcher. It's about a student who gets hit by a baseball and goes blind but appears ten years later and wins a game with a fastball. It turns out he worked hard with his father and when everyone realizes he's blind, he has to fight against the baseball association and his rivals on the pitch. However, they decide to write Two Earths for Jump by Summer Vacation. Miyoshi Kaya, best friends with Azuki at school, wants to talk with Takagi. She's angry because she told Takagi what Azuki wanted to be when she grew up and Takagi asked Azuki if it was true. When Miyoshi leaves, Takagi says he loves her (I think). Miyoshi goes back to Azuki. Azuki thinks Takagi likes Miyoshi because she's cute, unlike Iwase whose stuck-up. Miyoshi also wants to find out who Azuki likes. She asks Azuki but she gets really embarrassed and says she's really self conscious and blushes when she sees boys. Meanwhile, Takagi and Mashiro are working really hard on their manga. They finish on 28/08/2008. They decide to bring over the manuscript to Shueisha (Manga Company) tomorrow. Also, Niizuma Eiji's Tezuka Award for Large Bander gets published into Jump. Akamaru Jump Mashiro and Takagi make a one-shot (50-page first chapter), Money and Intelligence for Akamaru Jump, which eventually gets published to the magazine. It is their first manga to be published. Each of the magazine's stories are rated and they get first place in the early results, but they only get third place in the final (real deal) results. After the drop in the ranking for the manga, Mashiro and Takagi decide to make a manga that is more mainstream (current trend), as opposed to going for a cult hit. Editing Crow Chapter 5 While Takagi is creating an idea for a more mainstream manga, Mashiro agrees to work for Niizuma Eiji for the summer. He meets Nakai and Fukuda while working there. Mashiro and Fukuda help Eiji with creating a more interesting plot, and discuss popularity in Jump. After learning both Eiji and Fukuda use characters they made up when they were kids for their stories Mashiro quits, wanting to find inspiration in what he drew when he was younger. Breaking Up After learning that Takagi hasn't really been working on a new story, he begins to wonder about Takagi's conviction. Mashiro remain's silent until the end of the summer, and breaks off his partnership with Takagi. Unbeknowist to both of them they are both thinking of writing a detective story. Mashiro later learns this from Takagi on the way to school and that Hattori was intending to show them that they were a perfect team by tricking them into both entering a story in the Golden Future Cup. Mashiro then disides to turn the tables on Hattori, by making him belive that they are both working on their stories wail he and Takagi are really working together. Golden Future Cup New Year's Party At the New Year's Party, Mashiro and Takagi are introduced to many mangakas. Some of them are new artists just like Mashiro , for example Hiyamaru and Arai (Who made Otters11 and Cheese Okaki respectively). After dinner and bingo, Mashiro says to a board member that his goal is to make a popular manga that can get number one, unlike his uncle. Detective Trap's Serialization Moritaka has been working extremely hard while Detective Trap is being serialized. He has been getting less and less sleep and he finally collapses. He was taken to the hospital after that. He is diagnosed with a liver infection which requires surgery. Mashiro wants to keep working while he is in the hospital so that the Trap won't have to go on hiatus, whereas everyone else believes that his first priority should be to get better. Mashiro tries to convince Takagi to bring him his materials, but Takagi decides to call Azuki to see if she can convince him to stop working. Azuki goes to the hospital the next day and begins talking to Mashiro from outside his room. Hospitalized Azuki asks which is more important; manga or her. Mashiro says manga. He is determined to continue drawing manga in the hospital, even though he is not allowed to until his health improves. Eiji, Takagi and Mashiro's mom go to the hospital. Once they leave, their editor comes in and requests him to stop. He says the head has put them both on hiatus. However, when he comes in, he says he will be putting them on hiatus till they graduate from high school (even after they come out of hospital) because of his uncle who died from working too hard on manga. Two of Me, Hitman10, and Future Watch Two of Me, Hitman10, and Future Watch are all stories that Takagi and Mashiro make up. Two of Me and Future Watch are two series they want to write for their editor; one of them comedy and the other one serious. Their editor wants them to write a comedy but Takagi is reluctant because comedy isn't his strong point. They also decide to make a one shot for Manga Treasure which will be judged by Eiji. When they turn in the two manga Two of Me and Hitman10, as they feared their editor Miura, choose the comedy manga, but their editor found Future Watch as an entry for treasure, causing an argument, in which Miura lets Future Watch be sent to Treasure. Miura later calls them to get ready for a meeting, because he avoid the mentioning Treasure, they both guess that their manga did well. Miura later tells them that due to the quality of the works the editors decided to run Future Watch and Hitman10 as one-shots and which ever did better would be serialized, both thought Furture Watch would do really well. The result were not exactly what they wanted, all thought Future Watch did better it was only slight better and had only had a rating of 9. They met with Miura, who collected tons of data that prove comedy was a more stable manga choice. Due to his facts, Takagi agreed but Mashiro, completely disagree as he thought Takagi was more suited to darker mangas. Causing another argument, in which Miura stated that they sould spilit up, enraging Takagi. However once they realize how serious Miura they forgive him and decide to make a comedy manga. But they plan to create a new manga Trivia *Moritaka occasionally sits in the same position as L Lawliet, a character from the manga Death Note, which was also created by Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba. *Mashiro wears Nike brand shoes. Bakuman Volume 3, Chapter 19, Page 7 Quotes *(To Akito Takagi) "You won't become a mangaka. The only ones who make it are a tiny percentage of those with talent, True Geniuses." Bakuman Chapter 1, page 20 *(To Miho Azuki) "So when our dreams come true..........WILL YOU MARRY ME?!" Bakuman Chapter 1, page 51 - 52 *(To Akira Hattori) "I mean if we make a manuscript with an eye towards serialization and it's good enough can we get serialized?"(Bakuman chapter 11, page 19) *(To Miho Azuki) "How long... How long will you wait for me?" Bakuman chapter 14, page 16 References Category:Male Characters Category:Mangaka Category:Bakuman Characters Category:Assistants Category:Gambler Category:Anime Character